Collection Gems: June 2017

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) was established in 1879 when several Federal organizations merging into a single entity. In 1882 the Survey superimposed a grid of 15 minutes latitude by 15 minutes longitude on the country to map it at a unified scale. The resulting “quadrangles”, mapped between the 1890’s and 1950’s, are – with the exception of the State of Alaska – no longer produced, but were gradually replaced by a 7.5 minute quadrangle, the basis for modern US topographic maps. (I say “US topographic maps” because all other countries use metric scales of 1:25,000 and 1:50,000. A 15 minute quadrangle map scale is 1:62,500, while a 7.5 minute map scale is 1:24,000. A word about nomenclature: the larger the second number, the smaller the scale.)

The first topographic maps in the United States resulted from field surveys involving a survey tape and compass, and a barometer for elevation. Maps were made and updated using these tools until around 1940 after which aerial photographs have been used. Symbol colors also evolved over time. Brown ink was chosen to illustrate natural features like contours, lines connecting points of equal elevation. (The maps scanned for this article all use a 20-foot interval between contours). Black ink was used to illustrate human landscape features like roads and houses and blue ink used for water and wetlands. Green was used to denote vegetation beginning in the 1910’s. Red ink was introduced for major roads in the 1920’s and for marginalia pertaining to road distances to the nearest off-map population center.

The Hunterdon County Historical Society’s Map Collection holds 44 maps at three different scales, and of vintages from 1900 to 1973. While emphasis is, naturally, on Hunterdon County, much of New Jersey if represented by the smaller scale maps. Here are this month’s focus maps:
Figure 1 is Map 249, a 15 minute quad published in 1916
Figure 2 is Map 163, a 1 inch = 1 mile map published in 1948
Figure 3 is Map 277, a 7.5 minute quad published in 1955

(CLICK ON IMAGES FOR LARGER VIEW)

Map 248, 15 minute quadrangle

Figure 1

Map 163, 1” = 1 mile scale

Figure 2

Map 277, 7.5 minute quadrangle

Figure 3

It’s really interesting is to see what changes time has wrought on the locale – and the differences between what was represented on the maps. Figures 4, 5, and 6 are cropped images of the Milford area. Inspect the maps for some changes, which will lead to some intriguing questions. The contours north of town show more topographic variability in later maps.

Milford, 1916

Figure 4

Milford, 1948

Figure 5

Milford 1955

Figure 6

Does this suggest significant erosion in that area or is it the result of mapping scale and methodology? (If erosion, was the delta – a prism of sediment – at the mouth of the small creek southeast of Milford and building into the Delaware River eroded from this area? See Figure 6).

What was once a road in 1916 connecting York/Javes Road with the Milford-Point Pleasant Road north of Milford is mapped as an unimproved road in 1948 and is no longer present by 1955.

Is there anything still visible suggesting the road ever existed?

In contrast, look at the growth of Milford south of the creek (between the “B” and “E” in Belvedere on the 1916 map).

Does this represent the expansion of housing for workers at the Curtis Specialty Paper Factory?

Notice, too, the growth of the road network on the south side of CR519 east of town.

On the 1948 map in Figure 2 there are numerous flagstone quarries mapped and a number of “gravel hills”.

What were the flagstones used for? And what were “gravel hills?

Then notice the richness of detail in the larger scale 1955 map (Figure 3) which – in addition to including vegetation – also locates churches, cemeteries, schools, location of benchmarks (elevations surveyed), individual buildings, infrastructure (e.g.: sub stations, water towers).

All of these differences will dictate the scale best suited to your research. Perhaps you need to compare all three scales. So, when considering a map for research, consider the most useful scale: a large scale covers less area, but shows more features in that area. Smaller scale maps cover more area, but show fewer features.

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The Hunterdon County Historical Society is opening its big red barn for a special fundraising event onSaturday, October 7 from 3:00-6:00 pm! Join the professional staff and trustees of the HunterdonCounty Historical Society at 67 River Road in Flemington for “An Afternoon at the Archives.”The event features wine tastings, light-fare and music followed by curator tours of the special collectionshoused in the Society’s state-of- the-art climate controlled archive building. Guests can get a glimpseinto the behind- the -scenes work of the historical Society and a look at some of the amazing collectionsgathered since the Society’s inception in 1885. On view will be paintings, textiles, rare maps, Civil Warartifacts, Native American collections, rare manuscripts and more! The Society is raising funds to helppreserve the collections for another 132 years!The event is $40 for members and $50 for non-members; rain or shine. Check or cash only the day of theevent. On-line registration is available for credit cards prior to the event @ www.hunterdonhistory.org.The first 50 registrants will receive an etched collectible wine glass and a choice of their preferred tourtime: 3:30; 4:15; 4:45; or 5:15 by calling 908-782- 1091. But visitors may show up the day of the event!Sponsors include Northfield Bank, Mendham Garden Center, Printech, Rutgers Nursery, Wine Hut andShopRite of Hunterdon. ... See MoreSee Less

The HCHS Archives team is pleased to release our latest new collection, Collection No. 191: Flemington High School Florida Reunion Group Records, 1910 – 2010. Includes school publications, news clippings, modern reproduction photographs of images from other publications, original photographs, High School Pamphlets, and other ephemera.

The Florida Reunion Group of Flemington High School (NJ) was an informal alumni group made up of graduates living in and visiting Florida. The first gathering of alumni in Florida was in 1995; the last recorded by the group in its donation of materials was 2010. The group met in different locations each year and enjoyed a social occasion that included dinner, drinks, displays of memorabilia and yearbook photographs (reproductions).

Hey, you never know what is going to turn up in the archives, do you? ... See MoreSee Less

The HCHS Archives team is pleased to announce the release of a new collection: No. 190, The Hunt/Fink Collection (ca. 1883-1965). The collection contains papers and photographs accumulated by Samuel LeRoy Hunt (1896-1966). The papers collected include news clippings, postcards and other ephemera. The photographs which comprise the major part of the collection include photos of the Hunt Family, the Henry Fink family, extended family and friends. This collection would be useful to those researching the genealogy of the Hunt and Fink families as well as those interested in life in Stanton, Readington Twp., and Sand Brook, Delaware Twp., in the late 19th and early 20th century.

What if I told you that some of the most interesting, beautiful, and detailed structural maps of all of NJ's towns in the turn of the 19th to the 20th century were produced by... a fire insurance map company?

The Sanborn Fire Insurance Map website says: “Sanborn has been creating maps since 1866—longer than any other company in the United States. We’ve been gathering information and mapping buildings for more than 140 years. Our archives contain over 1.2 million Sanborn maps containing the history of approximately 12,000 American cities and towns.” That’s a really remarkable effort, and a boon for genealogists and historians!

The Society holds original map sets for Flemington and Lambertville. Specifically, Maps 284 and 285 are Sanborn Maps of Flemington from 1902 and 1896, respectively, and Map 286 covers Lambertville in 1912. The image for this post is from the 1902 Flemington map set (Figure 1), being in the best condition of the three sets.

At a scale of 1 inch = 50 feet, these maps contain lots of detail! Whether a building was brick, frame or stone construction had significant implications for how each would react to fire, thus the interest in these maps from insurance companies. The infrastructure (hydrants, escape routes per floor, wood or metal cornices, metal window shutters, etc.) were used to determine the fire risk and spread potential for each address. These maps are of interest to the genealogist as well, considering that the owners of many structures are named, along with the use of the buildings. And, the frequency of publication of Sanborn maps allow for comparisons of the same areas between relatively close time periods.

The Hunterdon County Historical Society recently received an operating support re-grant from the Hunterdon County Cultural and Heritage Commission, with funds from the New Jersey Historical Commission, a division of the Department of State.